A daisy by another name
by oana12
Summary: Running away and leaving behind your life is not easy. Daisy knew that, but she had to escape from her mistakes, from all she had brought on herself. She never expected to find love when all her hope was gone and neither did he, to fall for a broken girl with sad eyes that made him feel like electricity was running through his veins.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

If someone would have told him a few hours earlier that his terrible day would be forgotten in an instant, he would have cursed them for sure!  
Yet it happened. He was woken up by the screams of his phone and later by his attending's, for being late for his rounds at the hospital. One hour later he lost two patients, gave bad news to five people who came at the emergency room, because that had been his punishment, to cover the emergency room and it was a nightmare so far!

Six hours had passed from his 24 hour shift and he felt like he could yell at the interns who kept deleting charts from the computer system, because someone had been smart enough to let interns close to the patient's charts. But they were new, they had barely been a week at the hospital. He understood they needed time, to learn to save lives, because mistakes were not allowed. After recovering the charts, because back-up systems had been invented, he left for an early lunch, at the nearby restaurant. Once he got there, he placed his order and asked for coffee.

"Skye will bring your order in a moment, I'm at the bar today – said his favorite waitress"  
"Who is Skye? Is she new?"  
"Oh, I'm sorry doctor Campbell, I forgot to mention. She started yesterday morning. Poor girl looks like one of those rich kids that were kicked out by mommy and daddy, but she seems like a nice girl."  
"As long as my food does not end up on the floor or the coffee on my clothes, it should be okay. I'll be at the usual table."

He found his table at the back of the restaurant, hidden behind a wall that allowed him a bit of privacy. The first time he came here he did not knew about what was behind the wall. As a student, it was the perfect place to eat lunch and have some quiet time to study for exams. Looking back, the place had not changed at all. The walls were the same cream color, the paintings on the walls were the same, the menus had not changed either. The only thing that changed was Camilla, the other waitress retiring and this girl taking her place.

As the new waitress brought his order the plates slipped from her hands and fell on the ground, shattering. The girl looked tired, like she had not slept in a while and he felt sorry for her, knowing Kara and Jiaying.

"I'm so sorry, sir!" – she said picking up pieces of broken plates  
"It's okay, be careful! Just leave them there."

He wanted to tell her to be careful to not injure herself, but it was too late, there was blood on the ground. His training kicked in immediately and he kneeled on the floor next to her, taking her injured hand in his hand, to examine it. When he touched her hand, he could swear he felt like something had shocked him, static energy travelling through his hand, all over his body, making him feel warm inside. He brushed it off, deciding to forget about it and to focus on her injury, analyzing the cut on her hand.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry, I'm stupid, I'm stupid, and oh God, Jiaying is going to fire me on my first day" – she said repeating the phrase  
"Hey, look at me. What matters now, is that you are hurt and need a doctor. Must be your lucky day, because I am a doctor and it seems it's just a superficial cut, you won't be needing stitches."

Smiling, he lifted his gaze to assure her he was not mad at her, that it was going to be okay. She looked like she was trying to say something when they heard an angry voice. It was Kara, his regular waitress and she looked very angry.

"What did you do?"  
"I didn't mean to, my hand slipped and..."

But poor Daisy never got to finish her sentence, Kara seemed to not want to hear her explanation.

"I don't care! You were already given that one more chance and look what you do! You spilled food on the carpet, broke the plates AND got blood stains on the carpet. Since Jiaying gave me enough power to manage this place, you are fired! Now get out, I don't want to see your face again!"

As Kara left, Skye looked like she was trying not to cry. Not only was she injured, but she was heartbroken and his heart broke too, just by seeing her suffer. After all, she was a human being and Kara had treated her like an object.

"What am I going to do? I needed this job."  
"There's surely more jobs in town, you could get a better paid one."  
"I tried hard, you know? This wasn't my first option. In the end it was this or being a stripper." – she told him sighing  
"We'll get you another job. You are not from around here, are you?"  
He could swear that for a moment, she stopped breathing. The poor girl looked scared, like he had found out her biggest secret and she had to run away as fast as she could.  
"It's okay, I'm not from around here either, he said, I'm just wondering if you got a place to stay, or someone to help you because it's hard to move to a place and not know anyone."  
"I… I just moved… a week ago. I'll go gather my stuff, thank you for being kind and understanding. " – she said lowering her gaze

He helped her get up from the floor, wrapped her hand in clean napkins, watched her as she went to take her stuff from the changing room and led her out of the door, offering to take her to her apartment, but she refused. Lincoln knew what being new somewhere felt, having nowhere to go to, no one to help you, so he gave her his phone number and told her to call if she ever needed help or a friend.  
After watching her walk down the crowded streets, he ran back at the hospital to work, but not before making sure she had disappeared from his sight.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Daisy's day could not have started worse! She was going to be late to her new job and was almost run over by a car while crossing the street. Her shoes were killing her, because she had decided to put on a pair of black heels to match her outfit, black skirt and a white blouse. She should have just wore those nice flats, but she wanted to impress, so maybe a bit of pain would be worth it.

After running through the crowded streets and sweating her "I'm trying to impress you" outfit, she arrived at the restaurant. It was 8:39 in the morning and she was so late, she'd probably get fired before even starting and Daisy really needed the job!

"Good morning, I'm Skye, from..."

"You are late!" – said the middle aged woman behind the bar

The woman looked angry, like Daisy had killed her favorite pet and now she was going to pay for it.

"I'm sorry, I tried..."

"I don't care, you are late! Do you know what is like to run the bar and wait the tables? I don't think you do, because if you did, you'd have been here an hour ago."

"It won't happen again, I promise!"

"It better not, because I don't think Jiaying will give you another chance. You are lucky she needed the help, or you would not be here. Here's a list of orders, change your clothes and get to work!" – replied the other woman

Just breathe Daisy, just breathe, she thought, it's going to be okay, nobody is going to fire you… yet.

She quickly went into the small room she was told it was for keeping their belongings and changing and put on the uniform. It was cream colored, like the walls, like everything in the restaurant, and she thought about her mother. If she could see her, she'd be so disappointed!

Changing her name, waiting tables, that's not what she was supposed to do. Being a hacker helped her create a new identity, become someone else, to start a new life, even if that meant leaving behind her family.

Daisy missed her parents so much, especially on rainy days. Her parents, Melinda and Phil, were two very different people, that it was a surprise to everyone when they got together. While Phil was a warm person who was always smiling or laughing, Melinda was like a dark cloud over your town, you never knew what to expect. Deep inside, love was what united them, what made them respect each other and from that love, their little miracle, Daisy, was born on a rainy day screaming on top of their lungs and that day, was the first time Phil saw his wife cry. And the last time also, because Melinda was a tough woman and she will deny everything if he ever tells anyone he saw her cry.

But Daisy was not like her parents at all. She was not bright as a sunshine like her father or unpredictable and calculated like her mother. She was a mess, made a lot of mistakes (because otherwise she wouldn't have changed her identity), she was insecure (could she do this job? Well it was better than being a stripper, even if strippers were paid more than she'll make waiting tables, yes, she considered being a stripper, but decided it was too risky ), clumsy ( she hoped not to break things or burn clients on the first week ) and kind of impulsive ( her mother would say she is just reckless and irresponsible).

She was running away from her worst nightmare, one that she brought upon herself, her worst mistake.

When Daisy met him, she was fooled by his charms, not really looking what was underneath. Months passed and slowly he started revealing his true nature and when he did, she run away, as far as she could from him, leaving everything behind.

Here she was, getting orders and waiting tables in a restaurant. Pushing her thoughts aside, she picked the order from the table behind the privacy wall and ignoring the older waitress's dirty look, she started walking towards the table. Her hands were still sweating for an unknown reason, since she wasn't carrying anything warm and she prayed to get there in time, before she dropped the plates. But she didn't. She was almost next to the table, when she extended her hand too soon and the plates dropped to the ground, shattering.

In less than five minutes she had cut her hand with the broken pieces of plates, gotten fired and met a kind man, a doctor at the local hospital who had offered to help if she was ever in need. As she left the restaurant she saw him watch her disappear into the crowd. Lincoln had given her a phone number to reach him if she ever needed a friend or help and she had felt overwhelmed by his kindness.

As Daisy entered her apartment, she felt hungry, but there wasn't any food made. Not really, because junk food was not something a person could survive on.

Looking in the fridge, she found enough greens to make something healthy, but this had to change, she could not eat junk food everyday. Sure, she had had some in the past, but once in a while and not at home. Melinda had never allowed her daughter to eat anything that was not home cooked and had taught her how to prepare a meal. After putting the food away, she took a shower and studied the apartment she had moved into the previous week. Daisy's bedroom was well lighted, with a big window facing east and she felt homesick.

This apartment smelled of paint, coffee and perfume, it was nice, but still it was not home. Home where her dad read the newspaper and when she was little had let her sit next to him and make up all sorts of stories, because she couldn't read yet. Home where her mother had put her to sleep every single night with a lullaby, until she turned 12 and she decided that it was for children, but she secretly had missed her mom's warm voice. Home where her nana, had sneaked her cookies when her parents were not looking and her aunt Maria, who had survived a car crash had been a superhero to her since she could remember. But she had not missed him. She cursed the moment she met him because it was her foolishness that lead her to running away like a coward.

Daisy fell asleep thinking about her family, but soon her mind was taken over by nightmares. It was him again, knife in his hand and she could not move. She was sitting on a chair, tied down with the telephone wire and he was walking towards her. Lifting his hand he dove his knife into the skin of her arms, over and over again, until she suddenly woke up screaming.


	3. Chapter 3

Cold sweat was running down Daisy's back, while a stream of tears poured down her cheeks. Her heart was racing and her mouth was dry. Daisy couldn't move, her breath was shallow… it had been too real, the nightmare that haunted her everytime she closed her eyes.

Getting up from her bed, she dried her tears, but one second later, her legs gave out and she fell on the floor. It had been a bad idea, getting up so soon after having a panic attack. What had she done to herself? Why couldn't she had stayed away from him? Closing her eyes she could still see him, his fist hitting her chest, his hands closing around her throat choking her, but never to kill her, just to make her suffer. Sometimes she could feel how that cable had cut into her skin, how it hurt when his fist hit her over and over again and how she could not breathe.

But it was his voice that haunted her the worst, hearing those words over and over again, she felt like she was back in that room, with him whispering in her ear how he was "doing this" because he loved her and her body would paralyze with fear everytime. There were moments when she considered going back, because maybe he was gone, but she was in danger now, since he always seemed one step ahead of her, breathing on her neck and she could not live like that.

The horror in her parent's eyes when they found her bleeding out tied to a chair in her apartment and barely conscious, the next day, was an image she will never forget. She knew they could never forget either the state she was in, nor forgive her for being foolish, even if they had assured her they only wanted her to get better, that she was loved.

Her mother had never liked him.

Everytime he came home with her, visiting her parents, Melinda was quietly observing him or giving him that look Daisy knew too well, that meant her mother did not liked something. To her father it was her happiness that mattered the most. Phil had been fooled by him too, like she had been, because he seemed to know how to get under a person's skin, find out what they liked and exploit them until he no longer needed.

After what seemed like hours, she got up from the floor, careful to not fall again, changed her clothes and walked to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water. Finding one clean glass, she poured some water in it and drank slowly. She had not eaten when she got back after being fired and fixed herself some late dinner, eating as quickly as she could. Sighing, she took the old newspaper from the table and tried to find a job she had not looked into before. There was not much Skye could do and she knew drawing attention to herself was not something good.

Throwing the newspaper on the ground, she cradled her face in both hands and counted to ten. She needed to calm down, but it was hard to, knowing that if she did not get a job soon, she'd be homeless, too, in less than a month.

Looking at the clock, it showed that it was a little past midnight, but she needed to get out, take a walk and clear her mind. Her apartment was on the third floor and the building was quiet ever since she got here. Most of the neighbors Daisy had met, were friendly, but there were still some she did not knew yet.

The night air was a bit chilling, but it was what she needed right now.

"You are going to freeze to death" a voice said from behind her.

Sitting on the bench on the corner of the building was a girl with light brown hair and an English accent. She was holding a book in her hands and next to her sat a curly haired boy, looking amused at Daisy.

"I'm sorry, I did not knew anyone would be outside at this hour", replied Daisy "Besides, how are you not cold?"

"Fitz and I, we like to sit here by night, study for exams of course. I'm English, Fitz is Scottish, we are used to worse than this", said the girl laughing

"Simmons is my lab partner, we go at the same college here."

"Would you like to sit with us? I'm Jemma Simmons, and this is Leo Fitz. We live in the 5th apartment", said the girl closing her book and smiling gently

There was something about Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz that made Daisy feel safe. Warm eyes met hers and she smiled, walking towards them and sitting on the bench across.

"I'm Skye, nice to meet you too. I believe you live across from me."

"Oh, isn't that wonderful, Fitz? Now we have one more neighbor close to our age, someone who we can talk about things that are not knee pains, cats or pain medicine."

"You see Skye, our neighbors are mostly older people. Jemm and I chose this apartment building because it was quiet and we needed that to be able to study. The only other young person lives above us, a doctor, but he mostly lives at the hospital lately. So when did you got here?"

"A week ago, give or take a few days", answered Daisy reluctantly

"That makes sense, we were working on projects until late on campus this last week, it got so messy at some point, Fitz and I had to stay longer…"

"… and that's why we hadn't met you earlier, makes sense, as Jemm said."

As minutes passed she felt herself relax in their company and was even amused by their habit of finishing each other's sentences. It was easy, listening them talk about science projects that she did not understand, but somehow, it helped her forget about the demons that haunted her. They were laughing at a terrible joke Fitz had told about a monkey and as Jemma filled her in about Fitz's love for monkeys, she heard footsteps on the pavement walking towards them and she froze.


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes the job was so stressful, he just wanted to pass out in an on-call room and sleep. The rest of his shift had passed painfully slow, because somehow, he could not stop thinking about the girl from the restaurant.

He felt sorry for her, that she had lost the job she needed so bad, but working for Jiaying was not something he wished anyone. The restaurant was close to the hospital, the food was decent, but Jiaying was a business minded woman, she did not care for her employees. To her, people like Skye were not irreplaceable, because, as Kara had said once "Jiaying only cares for her business, because in the end, people come and go, and she still has to make sure the restaurant is open every morning".

When he gave Skye his phone number he meant every single word. Being in a new city could be scary sometimes, if you don't have anyone by your side, and he knew that feeling very well. He had been lonely and homesick for a whole year until he felt he was part of the community, until he had met people and created strong friendships with some of them. When he arrived at the hospital, as an intern, Lincoln could not possibly see himself staying in this place more than the necessary. His plan however, had backfired, because he fell in love with the simple life of the small city.

It was one of the pieces that had been missing, that he kept looking for because deep inside he had felt incomplete all his life. The only thing that kept him from completing his puzzle, was love. He had dated girls before, some that he cared for or loved, but had never been in love. Nobody had made his heart beat so fast that it threatened to jump out of his chest with just one touch, nor had he felt like melting under a girl's gaze.

The job can be so demanding, that very few doctors find love outside the hospital. His best friend, Lance Hunter had been one of the lucky ones. Lance met his wife, Barbara Morse while they were interns. A few months later they were already in a relationship, and they had gotten married right away. Not soon after, it ended in tears, shouts, and… divorce. But they were Lance and Bobbi, they always found their way back to each other, no matter how many times they had gotten divorced or separated.

He could never forget what Lance had told him once. He said "You know, Bob and I, we are far from perfect. She loves to make me so mad, that I feel sometimes like punching the walls, and I swear, she's as deceiving as the devil, because she is so sweet on the outside, and a raging fire on the inside. But she's mine, and even if we got divorced three times, what matters is that I married her four times, and I'd marry her, and only her as many times as I could, because this hell beast of a woman, is my one true love."

It was the love in their eyes that made Lincoln want to know what real love felt like. And if that meant waiting all his life, he'll be waiting patiently, because it had to be worth it in the end.  
But walking down the hospital halls alone, made him think about his life, where it was heading, what he wanted. He always had pictured himself as one of the best surgeons, because he cared enough, and worked hard, but never had he thought about getting married or having a family.  
Surgeons are addicted to work; they cut, they fix what's broken, sew their patients back together and follow their recoveries. Until recently it had been enough. Lincoln found what he needed in his job, and his friends, but now he wanted, no, he needed more.

The chilly night air made him shiver, as he tried picturing himself as more than just a surgeon. But Skye's eyes, they kept coming back, almost like haunting him, every time he closed his eyes. He knew nothing about her, besides the fact that she had recently moved to the city and yet he had felt like he was looking into a mirror when their eyes met. But she was never going to call him, and frustrated, he kicked a rock from the pavement.

Entering the gates of his building, he thought he might be losing his mind, because he heard laughter, and that voice he longed to hear, that he waited for all day, he was finally hearing it. It warmed him inside, and made his heart beat faster.  
Dragging his feet on the pavement he walked towards the source of the noise. But the noise stopped for a few seconds, and the voices got louder, calling her name.

"Skye? Is everything… Skye? Oh God, Leo, I think she's having a panic attack!", said Jemma Simmons worriedly, "Skye, just breathe, in and out, breathe!"  
"Jemma she's not… what could have caused this?"

As Lincoln got close enough to be able to help Skye, Jemma and Leo stepped away, letting him do his job.

"Oh Lincoln, thank God! Don't know what happened, she was fine one moment, and the next, she's like this.", said the younger girl looking scared

"Skye? Can you hear me? Everything's fine, you are going to be fine, just try breathing as Jemma told you, slowly, in and out. We're here to help you, just breathe."

Sweat was running down her face, and her hands were cold and slippery. He took off the jacket he was wearing, and placed it slowly on her shoulders, while trying to wipe the sweat from her face with a napkin from his pocket.

"Was it something we said?", wondered Fitz out loud

"No Fitz, don't be silly, she was already jumpy, acting a bit funny… I don't know exactly what it is about her, but she must have gone through something awful to react like this, don't you think?", pointed out Jemma as she stepped further away from Skye, not wanting to get in Lincoln's way

As Skye seemed to start responding to their calls, and was breathing normally, they decided to take her inside Jemma and Leo's apartment, so she could stay warm.  
Once they were inside, they seated her on the couch, and covered her with a blanket while Jemma started making tea for the four of them. They waited in silence until the tea was ready for serving, nobody knowing what to say.

"How do you feel?", asked Lincoln as Jemma passed him a cup of tea

"Thirsty, but otherwise, I'm okay. Listen, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened or why, but…"

"Don't be silly!" said Leo affectionately, placing a cup of tea in her hands, "There's no need to apologise, we all had our bad moments. Now drink up!"

Skye drank from the cup and placed it slowly on the table in front of her.

"I just got fired today and… hey! It's you! The guy from the restaurant. You live here?", said Skye as a smile was painted across her face

"It must be fate, to meet twice, and so soon, don't you think?", said Jemma laughing at her neighbor's beet red face

"Well, it's nice seeing you again…"

But the ringing of a phone interrupted him. It was Skye's phone. She picked it up, and stared at it for what seemed like hours when she finally pressed the answer button with shaking hands. Sitting next to her on the couch he could hear every word the person on the other side spoke.

"Don't you think for a minute I forgot about you, Daisy. We shall see each other again, my love."

As the call ended, Skye, or Daisy as the man had called her, threw the blanket aside, got up from the couch and run out of the apartment.


End file.
